To rectify the current deficiencies in funding children’s mental health and other emotional and behaviour issues of primary school pupils the All Party Parliamentary Group for a Fit and Healthy Childhood has published the Child Mental Health Charter which builds upon the themes of the APPG’s 12th report ‘Children’s Mental Health Beyond the Green Paper: The Role of Practice-Based Evidence.’

The Charter is a blueprint for the Bill. It already has the support of 30 MPs but just as important is your support. If successful there will be more funding for primary schools to support training and therapy.

Imagine a child who has a total grasp of a subject – perhaps history, or geography, or French, or maths.

But now imagine that same child without the ability effectively to communicate her or his knowledge. As far as the rest of the world is concerned that young person simply hasn’t learned.

Of course this is an extreme case, but in essence every child with poor communication skills has difficulties – not just in self-expression but also in listening and understanding.

In short the child with communication problems has difficulties with every aspect of learning.

And this problem affects a huge number of children. Ican, for example, has suggested that at least 10% of young people across the UK have communication difficulties severe enough to be hindering their learning, and causing difficulties in areas such as problem-solving and maintaining relationships.

To overcome this problem what is needed is a way for children to learn effective two-way interactive communication so that they can participate both in the formal side of their education and the social side of being at school.

But the problem is, how can this be arranged within the current financial situation?

NLP4kids works in this area with many schools around the UK, and our work includes helping schools access government funding specifically set aside for this sort of project – thus effectively making our services available free of charge to the school.

If you would like to know more about our work in improving students’ communication skills and about the funding, please do have a look at our communication skills webpage.

To discuss the options without any obligation please do call 0345 3192 666 or 0203 6677 294 or email me at gemma@NLP4Kids.org

The Child Mental Health Charter was launched on 11th March. It has evolved from the ‘Children’s Mental Health beyond the Green Paper,’ report published on 30th January 2019 produced by a range of experts and practitioners, members of the All Party Parliamentary Group on a Fit and Healthy Childhood.

It enshrines six broadly-based principles which can be used immediately as a definitive set of de-facto standards for all those working therapeutically with children in primary schools with the objective of improving the safety and effectiveness of practice. It will also enhance the credibility of the school as caring for their pupils and supporting parents.

The Charter calls upon the Government to make this the blueprint to reform the 1983 Mental Health Act in 2019. The report also urges that more funding is made available to primary schools for the training of school staff and employment in a therapeuticrole, together with joined up working with other services. A campaign has just been launched to gather a large number of supporters to help achieve these objectives more quickly.

Imagine a child going home after school and volunteering to his/her parents the story of what happened during the day (rather than waiting to be asked, and then offering the shortest of answers).

And imagine further that what the child chooses to talk about is the school assembly, with parents also bringing up the subject when they attend a parents evening, talking to you about how certain assemblies have really made an impact on their child.

Of course, you may well find this happens from time to time, with the parents spontaneously mentioning assemblies, but even if so you will know that there is a constant pressure to find more and more assemblies that grab attention and give children insights into the moral, personal and social world in which they live.

It was to provide such assemblies that my colleagues and I began to contemplate what made certain assemblies have a really strong influence on the children we teach.

We knew, of course, that we needed to create assemblies that were original, and which also met the social and emotional needs of the children who attend them and offer a focus on the values that the school wishes to present to the children.

As a result we have produced a set of over 350 assemblies with each one categorised and indexed, each of which is instantly available and fully scripted.

You can read a full example of one of our assemblies by following this link Additionally you can see the complete list of the categories and from there you can go into each category and see the details of all the assemblies on offer.

Apparently yes, it is possible, because so far over 100,000 pupils have enjoyed our workshops in their own school. Feedback from teachers has been universally positive.

What pupils develop in this workshop is a safe and secure mindset regarding the looming transition to Secondary School.

Using Drama, pupils are introduced to three characters with varying experiences on their first day of Secondary School. They learn their fears and how they overcame them, making them feel more settled and at ease.

They have the opportunity to interact with each of them, with the purpose of making them comfortable to ask any difficult questions.

Most importantly though, pupils are encouraged to think positively about their futures.

Our transition programme was put together with a consortium of educators, writers and performers ensuring that it works for pupils, educators and parents every time – and with 800+ school visits to date, we feel confident that we can verify this is the case.

Whether you’ve asked the children that question or not the chances are you can guess the most popular answers. Play time, lunch break, games, the reading of a story, art…

But does anyone say “Assembly”?

If any children do give that as an answer they are probably going to be in a minority, and yet it ought to be possible to generate more enthusiasm for assemblies since the assembly is an opportunity to do something utterly different from what happens in the rest of the day.

Indeed, there is no reason why the children should not look forward to each day’s assembly in order to find out what new and exciting event is going to happen next.

And there is of course a bonus here, because in such a scenario what we inevitably find is that one has everyone’s complete attention.

It was with this idea in mind that I began to collect ways of delivering Assemblies that did more than meet the statutory requirement. Assemblies that become as riveting as the TV programme that children ensure they get home in time to watch each day.

But of course assemblies need more than originality, for they also need to meet the social and emotional needs of the children who attend them and offer a focus on the values that the school wishes to present to the children.

As a result of this thinking we have produced a set of over 350 assemblies which are instantly available, and fully scripted. And we are still working on the project with new assemblies being added every month.

These assemblies are divided into 12 categories along with an index which allows you to choose your assembly by topic. You can read a full example of one of our assemblies by following this link

Additionally you can see the complete list of the 12 main categories and from there you can go into each category and see the details of all the assemblies on offer.

Of course there are many answers to that question, but there are two answers that always seem to stand out.

Two issues which, if met, really enhance the chances of the children understanding and remembering the core message within the Assembly.

First there is the issue of how the assembly starts, which determines how much focus the child gives to the proceedings that follow. And second there is the way the child’s attention is kept, which of course determines if the child follows the proceedings all the way through.

Obviously you don’t need me to tell you this, but the problem is that with the pressure to think up a new assembly every day it is occasionally possible to focus primarily on what the assembly is about, rather than how one is gaining and holding attention.

It was in thinking about this issue of not only providing assemblies that deliver an important and interesting message to the children about their lives, but also of producing assemblies that grabbed and held attention, that my colleagues and I began to work on the Assembly Box.

We wanted to create assemblies that were original, which met the social and emotional needs of the children who attend them, and which grabbed and held the children’s focus from the start to the finish.

In working through this idea we have produced a set of over 350 assemblies with each one categorised and indexed, each of which is instantly available and fully scripted.

You can read a full example of one of our assemblies by following this link. Additionally you can see the complete list of the categories and from there you can go into each category and see the details of all the assemblies on offer.

Jigsaw PSHE is now being used in over 2600 schools in the UK and overseas to deliver a comprehensive Personal, Social, Health Education programme with creative lesson plans and all the teaching resources needed.

This innovative, stand alone, evidence based whole-school programme covers all the required content for Relationships and Sex and Health Education.

Jigsaw the mindful approach to PSHE 3-11, guarantees your school will be fully compliant, takes away any concerns about forthcoming statutory status, and has a proven significant impact.

The introduction of the government’s Childhood Obesity Challenge last year required that all children should have an extra 30 minutes a day of activity in addition to the PE lessons already mandatory through the national curriculum.

This came about after a report was published by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health which revealed that 40 percent of children in the country’s most deprived areas were diagnosed as overweight or obese in 2016. Even in more affluent areas 27 percent were considered overweight or obese.

What’s more, the reports associated with this initiative showed quite remarkably that rather than reducing the academic performance of pupils, diverting 30 minutes a day away from classroom learning into a greater level of activity not only improved the children’s physical well-being, but also improved their academic performance.

One straightforward way to encourage activity and enhance positive play in the school grounds and simultaneously encourage children to meet the 30 minutes a day activity schedule is by teaching the children one game a week which they can then work on together.

Some games will catch on and become continuing favourites. Others by the nature of things will fade after a few days. But if the games that catch on are then passed on to parents, perhaps by being put on the school’s website, the impact of the game can be extended further and further.

What’s more because the game is initiated by the school, its uptake in the playground can be tracked very easily, as the government’s new “30 minute a day” programme requires.

PSHE in the Playground is a downloadable book which both looks at enhancing activity and enhancing positive play behaviour. It can be copied and circulated among your colleagues, and indeed parents if you so wish.

The book incorporates enough games to last a full school year and includes games that are suitable for both key stage 1 and key stage 2 children. Most games can be taught to children in a matter of minutes.

There are some aspects of human behaviour which virtually every child finds engaging, encouraging, helpful, and positive.

Children don’t have to be tutored in any way to get enjoyment out of these activities – it is just a natural element of self-expression; a part of growing up.

For example, drawing and painting can be considered one such area that virtually all children seem to enjoy and benefit from experiencing. Movement and dance is another, while a third is singing, and yet another is writing lyrics to songs.

Building on this natural desire for artistic expression among children, SEALSONGS was created by a well-known songwriter, working with a group of London primary schools, using children’s ideas. It is now used in hundreds upon hundreds of schools across the country and has become a firm favourite in assemblies.

What’s more, in addition to the songs, SEALSONGS gives advice to non-specialist teachers on teaching songs and leading singing.

Indeed Sealsongs also acts as a classroom resource for SEAL, with notes on how each song relates to its topic, while explaining how pupils may explore their ideas by writing new lyrics to the songs. Thus it gives children the positive experience of working with others in creating new songs within the SEAL framework.

The SEAL themes include New beginnings, Getting on and falling out, Say no to bullying, Going for goals, Good to be, Relationships and Changes. Two further general songs – one about writing songs and one providing a Rhyme Game – are also included in the pack.

SEALSONGS was written by David Stoll, the well-known composer of music for the concert hall, the theatre, television and radio. David often also writes songs and other works for children, and he designs projects in creativity for schools, higher education and the corporate sector.

The complete pack including music, lyrics, backing tracks and teachers’ notes is available as a download. The price is £24.00, which includes a licence for printing, copying and using the products in a non-commercial way within schools; the price also includes VAT.

Academic achievements are very important, but schools are about more than just that. For pupils who have SEN or any other emotional or behaviour issues it is vital that these are solved as early as possible. Parents of this children also need support and re-assurance that your school is doing its best for them.

Over a thousand schools have developed TAs into multiple roles by training them as Practitioners in Therapeutic Play Skills to do both of these tasks. They are achieving success rates of between 75% and 84%. Consider this opportunity if your school is not yet one of these or you are not already employing a registered Play Therapist.

The training takes place over five weekends (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) to minimise time away from school at 13 venues in the UK. It’s at post graduate level, validated by Leeds Beckett University. Qualifies for the Register of Play and Creative Arts Therapists accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.

At the end of the last ‘Target: Mars’ summer school for upper KS2 students this year, I was approached by the mother of one of the participating pupils. She was eager to express how closely the skill sets listed on the certificates awarded to students matched those her company looked for during candidate selection – and how valuable those skills really are in the workplace.

She was talking to me in a personal capacity but was from one of the giant science-led pharmaceutical companies based in London.

Our corporate division reports that the majority of employers are looking for a certain set of skills in prospective candidates – including critical thinking, creative thinking, communication and the ability to meet deadlines when under pressure. The earlier we start to develop these skill sets the more beneficial it is. It helps children during their education and helps to broaden their career options.

The approach used by Thinkers in Education has proven to increase engagement, raise aspirations, deepen learning, and build the ever so important thinking and social skills.

These school workshops are focussed around STEM subjects and are available throughout the year. They enable pupils to get their hands on science activities that support the curriculum but go beyond the scope of KS2 – which helps to ignite and fuel curiosity in STEM subjects.

Your pupils can use a wide range of equipment, from DNA fingerprinting to advanced electronics, and be taught by one of our STEM specialist teams – who are all highly experienced teachers too.

As a primary school you can choose to host half-day sessions or host a workshop during one of our UK tour routes. Both options significantly reduce the cost. It is also possible to host a student workshop followed by a staff team building session (as delivered to our corporate clients). Plus, there are free activities that your teachers can use in their own lessons.

It takes less than a minute to sign up for the updates. Simply click here to have a look.

If you would like to discuss any of these options, we would be delighted to talk with you.

A story-based scheme addressing the Foreign Language Programmes of Study for teaching Spanish at KS2

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The pack includes audio-enhanced e-storybooks for each of the 14 stories. The stories are acted out by native Spanish speakers bringing the stories to life. The e-storybooks can be shared with the class using an interactive whiteboard, read individually or in small groups.The Learn Spanish with Luis y Sofía 1a Parte Starter Pack is based around a story featuring a young brother (Luis) and sister (Sofía) and their friends and family. The topic-based stories are written entirely in Spanish, use simple sentences and introduce key vocabulary and language structures.

The teacherʼs book contains lesson plans for each story, translations of the stories and exercises, games and activities focusing on enabling pupils to communicate in Spanish.

The scheme is designed with non-specialists in mind and will make implementing the National Curriculum for England easy. Self-assessment sheets can be used to monitor children’s progress and ensure coverage of all the Programmes of Study.

Because “anxiety” is such an everyday term, it can be easy to forget what it actually means. And that can be a shame, because for some pupils anxiety means they never achieve the results in school that could and indeed should be theirs.

At its simplest anxiety is a worry about a future event. The worry does not have to be realistic to affect behaviour, and sadly, simply telling a person there is nothing to worry about or “you’ll be fine” often does not help at all.

Indeed such comments can make matters worse for an anxious child, because to the child the anxiety is completely real, as real as any pain following any injury, but quite often far more debilitating. That it is irrational, only makes it worse.

And here we see the problem that we, as teachers, face. If we have not suffered from anxiety it is hard to appreciate how debilitating it is and how difficult to overcome.

Also we must understand that although many children do worry abut tests and exams, that “worry” or “nervousness” is not the same as “anxiety”.

Worry about the future is built in to all of us, indeed it helps keep us safe. Anxiety however is worry that is out of control and unrealistic. A desperate concern about what will happen in specific situations which has nothing to do with what actually happens.

Indeed no matter how many times the individual faces that worry and comes through it satisfactorily, the anxiety can be just as strong next time.

Worse, after a while, each anxiety episode builds up, so in the end it is always there, haunting the child, never allowing the child to relax or escape.

Fortunately one short-term intervention programme during the primary school years with children who suffer in this way can result in a wholly different outcome, one in which anxiety is reduced to more normal levels.

Such a change can be achieved through a short period of intervention with a small group of children – and the big bonus is that there is external funding available for this type of intervention so that there is no cost at all to the school.

If you feel that you have some children in your school who are not reaching their full potential because of anxiety or related issues, and you would like to make use of external funding to help these children, I would ask you to get in touch.

We have already worked with numerous schools across the country and now have additional time and funding available to come to your school and work with the children you nominate. There are more details of our work with pupils with anxiety at on the Anxiety section of our website.

If you would like to discuss the options without any obligation please do call 0345 3192 666 or 0203 6677 294 or email gemma@NLP4Kids.org

It is a simple fact that pupils in school who express anger which cannot be controlled cause disruption in the classroom and in the school at large.

But helping pupils control their anger is difficult; for this anger is often a reaction not just to everyday experiences but to accumulated problems across time. Daily events are generally just the trigger. The causes are invariably much deeper.

Unfortunately in such circumstances the teacher can be in an invidious position, wanting to offer emotional support to a pupil clearly in difficulty, while at the same time being a teacher with a duty towards everyone in the class.

And yet it is possible for these pupils can be fully integrated back into mainstream schooling and indeed subsequently become well-adjusted members of society – providing they get the right help.

Such reintegration involves not just managing a child’s behaviour but also seeking out and dealing with the issues that are causing this behaviour and then helping the child find the best emotional coping strategies to resolve the problem.

Sadly, for children who do not receive the support they need, education will only go so far to engage them. They need assistance in facing up to their problems and resolving them so that they avoid falling through the gaps in the education system or hiding from their issues with destructive behaviours that could harm themselves and others.

And this is what NLP4Kids offers. Helping pupils communicate their thoughts and feelings with others, helping them make meaningful relationships, and ultimately helping them improve their employment opportunities.

If you feel that you have some children in your school who are not reaching their full potential because of anger and related issues, and you would like to make use of external funding to help these children, I would ask you to get in touch.

We have already worked with numerous schools across the country and now have additional time and funding available to come to your school and work with the children you nominate. There are more details of our work at http://nlp4kids.org.uk/schools-co-uk/

If you would like to discuss the options without any obligation please do call 0345 3192 666 or 0203 6677 294 or email gemma@NLP4Kids.org

The activities in the Open-ended Maths Investigations Series encourage pupils to apply higher order mathematical strategies, creatively and effectively. The investigations become increasingly complex as you progress through the series, enabling …read more.

Have you ever heard of an entertainer willing to let you name your price for a show?

My guess… probably never.

Well – all that is about to change. I have some very exciting news for you…

I realise that some Primary schools just don’t have the budget to bring in the finest quality enrichment programmes for their children.

As one of the leading kids/family entertainers in Scotland, my goal is to share my magic with every school that has not yet experienced my special Award-Winning kids magic show no matter what their entertainment budget is.

How can we accomplish this?

Great question!

The answer is simple. I am removing the issue of cost from the equation. No longer will you be constrained by your limited entertainment budget.

I have decided to let you…

NAME YOUR PRICE!

Sound Crazy?

Well, you are in luck because… I have Gone Mad. :o)

I have created a Unique, and Unbelievable Discount Opportunity where you can…

Name The Price for my magic show!

How does it work?

Just click the link below and follow the simple steps to bring this outstanding show to your school at a price you can afford–because you named it!

There is a window of opportunity to improve children’s mental health. Primary schools have a vital part to play.

Current policy developments

During 2018 there has been much speculation about primary schools’ responsibilities and activities in respect of their pupils’ emotional well-being and mental health. This has been caused by a Government statement to commit an additional £1.4 billion for children and young people’s mental health over five years, coupled with the publication of a Green Paper to enable this funding to be used appropriately. The ‘Fit and Healthy Childhood All Party Parliament Group (APPG)’ published the ’Mental Health in Childhood on June 26th containing 73 recommendations, many aimed at improving the Green Paper.

We’ve just been through a similar situation with GDPR where poor advice is still being given. Too many organisations left their planning too late which led to too many uninformed decisions. Four key issues have been identified that you may wish to think about.

1 Appointment of mental health leads in primary schools

The proposal is that every school should appoint a Designated Senior Lead for Mental Health’ to oversee the school’s approach to mental health and wellbeing and to provide rapid advice, consultation and signposting. This is a good proposal, although the job specification still needs to be developed in detail and competencies defined so that adequate learning objectives may be derived for training.

Consider who is the best person to take over this role and any impact on your staffing plan. Recruiting someone from outside has the disadvantage of lack of knowledge of the pupils and being more of ‘an unknown quantity’.

2 Service delivery channels

The recommended appointment of a Senior Lead for Mental Health is followed by a more contentious one. The Government ‘will fund new Mental Health Support Teams, supervised by NHS children and young people’s mental health staff, to provide specific extra capacity for early intervention and ongoing help. Their work will be managed jointly by schools, colleges and the NHS. These teams will be linked to groups of primary and secondary schools, providing interventions to support those with mild to moderate needs and supporting the promotion of good mental health and wellbeing’

This seems a step backwards. Many schools are already carrying out these services satisfactorily where teachers and assistants have been trained to register standards. This has been proved to be very effective and cost efficient – so why change? just apply the new funding to this service.

Those who do not yet provide this service might consider if their pupils will be better off receiving therapy in their known school environment and don’t have to travel to another centre, probably have less waiting time and whether there’s less administrative burden and school control as compared to using an external team.

3 Regulation

This area is a striking weakness of the Green Paper. No reference was made at all to regulation aimed at safeguarding children with psychological or mental health problems. Play Therapists and School Counsellors have had registers accredited by the Professional Standards Authority since 2013. The APPG report covers this serious omission by recommending that: ‘All counselling, including play therapy, must be delivered by suitably trained practitioners who are on a Professional Standards Authority Accredited Register such as: http://www.playtherapyregister.org.uk‘

Every school needs to consider risk management. If the work is carried out by a registered therapist the risk of complaints by parents and others to the school is minimised because the professional organisation who manages the register are responsible for resolving the complaints. This protects the reputation of the school.

4 Evidence based practice

The Green paper makes a simple statement ‘Committing to recruiting 1,700 more therapists and supervisors, and training 3,400 existing staff to deliver evidence based treatments’. Again, the intention is good but the devil is in the very important detail. It is essential to specify exactly what evidence based practice (EBP) means for therapeutic work with children. The current medical model with a high reliance upon random control trials (RCT) is inappropriate mainly because of the ‘crisis of reproducibility’ associated with this research method.

Practice based evidence collected over a number of years is a better way forward. This shows effectiveness and efficiency under real life conditions with all their complexity. One model of play therapy, ‘Integrative Holistic’, has achieved this with over 59,000 outcome observations by parents and teachers. It shows that overall 77% to 84% of the children show positive outcomes. The variation is due to presenting condition, age, gender and number of sessions.

Schools should consider carefully which model of therapy is chosen, what practice based evidence exists and how they are going to compare their results, including cost effectiveness, to the national pattern.

The window of opportunity may not stay open long and may be obscured by the Government’s preoccupations with Brexit. But all schools can help themselves by thinking through the issues raised above for them.

If you are completely clear about your school’s responsibilities for your pupils’ emotional well-being and mental health and the best ways of meeting them regarding:

Therapeutic as compared to educational support

The need to use practice based evidence

Ensuring that the therapeutic support of pupils is covered in your updated Data Protection policy

Congratulations – read no further! If not:

Therapeutic as compared to educational support

There are the two different responsibilities for primary schools each requiring rather different sets of skills:

Pupils with social, emotional, behaviour or diagnosable mental health issues that are impairing their learning capabilities and their future life prospects. These make up on average 20% of all pupils in the UK. They require individual therapeutic help.

Teaching good mental health for all pupils as a part of the curriculum.

Unfortunately, some schools are using programmes that meet ii) to put a ‘tick in the box’ for i). Even worse some others are using school staff with inadequate training by on-line or videos and with no clinical supervision to carry out therapeutic work on the basis that it’s a low cost option. This can be dangerous for the children. If there is a complaint against someone who is not on a register accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) or registered with the HCPC for working with children the complaint will come directly to the school – with possible devastating consequence. You wouldn’t send pupils to an unregistered doctor, dentist or nurse would you?

The Green Paper of Transforming Children’s Mental Health referred to the need for evidence based practice but didn’t specify what this should be. The existing medical models of evidence bases are not suitable for psycho-social interventions. There is a crisis of reproducibility. However, the Integrated Holistic model, developed in the UK has an evidence base of over 59,000 measures collected over 12 years clearly showing the positive outcomes of between 74% and 84% that have been achieved year on year for a large variety of presenting conditions. As observed by teachers and parents.

For more information about practice based evidence or the Integrative Holistic model contact Jeff on: jefferyht@majemail.com

Ensuring that the therapeutic support of pupils is covered in your updated Data Protection policy

In updating your school’s Data Protection policy to meet the requirements of GDPR have you included therapeutic data, who processes it, how consent is managed and whom it can be shared with? Do you have efficient systems in place to deal with requests from data subjects or their proxies and for notification of breaches of confidentiality or loss of data?

If not, we have a check list and model Data Protection policy available at no cost. Contact Jeff: jefferyht@majemail.com

… and how you can avoid having to write them

From childhood onwards the majority of people appear to enjoy quizzes – as long as they don’t come with the fear of being made to look foolish if one gets an answer wrong.

Which is rather handy since taking quizzes is a really good way of both gaining more knowledge and ensuring that knowledge already gained is not forgotten.

That in turn just leaves the problem of setting and marking the quizzes – which is exactly why Education Quizzes exists. To help children learn more facts and make them ever easier to recall when needed.

For the past two years we have worked with teachers across the UK to create over 3000 different tests in 18 different subject areas – and these are available free of charge for a limited period.

Each test is available online, so they are always simple to administer. Better still the children can see their mark at once, and see which questions they have answered wrongly.

You can have access to all our tests totally free of charge for one month, using the tests as often as you wish. And to make it really simple there is one login across the school for all the tests, so there are no complicated passwords to remember.

To find out more and have access to all our tests free of charge, please visit our website. You’ll be logged in and able to explore the tests within a couple of minutes.

The government is taking a number of steps to transform children’s mental health. The details are planned to be finalised over the next few months. When they are, there is expected to be a rush to train or recruit play therapy practitioners that meet the new requirements by being on a register accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.

You can take advantage, at very little cost, of the APAC/Leeds Beckett University placement scheme for trainees, which meets the requirements of the Register of Play and Creative Arts Therapists. As the largest play therapy training organisation in the world we are currently training over 600 therapists. During the Autumn term we expect to have 200 new trainees looking for a placement.

The scheme will provide 100 hours of therapy for your pupils at no cost for one year. They will provide a complete service including briefing your teaching staff, assessments, parent interviews and communications as well regular activity and outcome reports meeting all professional and data protection requirements.

The only ‘costs’ to your school are the provision of a suitable room with equipment and materials (about £300) and a few hours of staff time for referral and review meetings

We have thirteen training venues throughout the UK so whilst we cannot guarantee that a placement will be available in your area, there’s a very good chance, especially if you apply now.

Of course, you can guarantee a trainee by funding a member of your staff.

Please contact me at mokijep@majemail.com for more information on placement and training opportunities.

Talking about Terrorism: Responding to pupils’ questions will give you guidance for the best way to respond to children’s questions about terrorism, such as, “What do terrorists want?”, “How can we stop someone becoming a terrorist?”, “Who is keeping us safe in Britain?”, “Why are terrorists so angry and full of hate?” and “When will terrorism end?”.

The book enables teachers to provide pupils with a greater understanding of terrorism by using clear, easy-to-understand language – providing simple, objective explanations and reassurance – while being careful not to raise unrealistic expectations.

In addition activities such as discussions and debates, role-play, poetry and artwork help to develop children’s understanding of this complicated subject.

School improvement methods come in many different shapes and sizes. However virtually all of them have one thing at their heart: an agreement between colleagues about what the school wants to achieve, and how it will achieve it.

Getting this agreement can be harder than it sounds though as it can be difficult to get over the first hurdle of getting everyone working together.

While school improvement is about sustainably raising standards, to be truly effective it has to be about much more than that. The process has to be something that everyone in the school will buy into.

When achieved, the benefits can be enormous: from higher test and exam pass rates through to reduced stress levels, higher morale and lower levels of absence among colleagues.

It is easier to get agreement of the improvement aims and the methods of achieving them when everyone understands not just what changes are being made in the school but why.

The fact is that teachers who feel genuinely empowered, supported, recognised, and valued will work to create a school to be proud of.

In schools where senior leaders drive improvement from deep insights into how the staff feel about their work, actions are focused and results achieved quickly.

The consultation on the Green Paper Transforming Children’s and Young Persons’ Mental Health has raised a bit of a furore. Over 2000 responses have been made. Will the government listen? We’ve picked out two of the most important points.

It’s important to distinguish the two different responsibilities for primary schools that require rather different sets of skills:

i) Pupils with social, emotional, behaviour or diagnosable mental health issues that are impairing their learning capabilities and their future life prospects. These make up on average 20% of all pupils in the UK. They require individual clinical help.

ii) Teaching good mental health for all pupils as a part of the curriculum.

Unfortunately, some schools are using programmes that meet ii) to put a ‘tick in the box’ for i). Even worse some others are using school staff with inadequate training by on-line or videos and with no clinical supervision to carry out therapeutic work on the basis that it’s a cheap option. This can be dangerous for the children. If there is a complaint against someone who is not on a register accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) for working with children the complaint will come directly to the school – with possible devastating consequence. You wouldn’t send pupils to an unregistered doctor, dentist or nurse would you?

The Green Paper completely missed the need for regulation. We hope that it will now be made a condition that only therapists on a PSA accredited register or with Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) will be employed or contracted in schools. Over 1500 schools in the UK have school staff trained to the required standards, most haven’t – www.playtherapy.org.uk and www.playtherapyregister.org.uk

The Green Paper referred to the need for evidence based practice but didn’t specify what this should be. The existing medical models of evidence base are not suitable for psycho-social interventions. There is a crisis of reproducibility. However, Play Therapy UK has an evidence base of over 59,000 measures collected over 12 years clearly showing the positive outcomes of between 74% and 84% that have been achieved year on year for a large variety of presenting conditions. As observed by teachers and parents.

So, although it might appear that responsibility i) is harder to fulfil, it needn’t be with PTUK’s help and we don’t need to hold our breath on the forthcoming White Paper.

Contact Monika at mokijep@majemail.com for more information on placement and training opportunities.

All over the UK Britons are preparing to celebrate the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

This royal wedding themed PowerPoint Presentation is a highly accessible and enjoyable citizenship and PSHE resource to help classes learn more about some great British institutions.

From the wedding venue, Windsor Castle to the roles being played by the public sector, military, and the Church of England – all working together to help ensure that Prince Harry and Megan have a great day.

To purchase and download the Royal Wedding Citizenship/PSHE Classroom PowerPoint click here

To find out more about our range of British Values books and posters click here

As you’ll be aware, there is a growing expectation for Primary Schools to offer more physical activity within the school day, not only in PE but across the whole curriculum. This is a totally new way of teaching, so not surprisingly some teachers are finding this concept a little daunting; you might even have colleagues who are struggling to see the importance and questioning the benefits it will have on their classrooms.

I hope the tools below will help you to change mindsets and support teachers with in getting more activity into the school day.

Physical Activity is the key to whole school improvement…

Active kids do better! Brains work better, they are better behaved, more focused, happier and healthier, and their learning improves.

A school in Lincolnshire have been using the imoves dance resources since 2016 (this case study is based on John Harrox Primary School and was commissioned by Youth Sports Trust).

It shows that with the right tools and resources, together we can get children more active, not only in school but also in extra-curricular activities too! Here’s what one parent told the school:

“One parent was particularly pleased that their daughter had come home pestering her to find a disco class for her to go to. She now attends disco dance weekly at a local community venue. It has increased her activity levels out of school along with her confidence”

You’ve heard what other teachers think about imoves, now try it for yourself! Simply drop us an email and we’ll give you a free trial membership, along with some you some really useful tools to help assess current activity levels within your school and highlight areas for improvement.

It is not unlikely that your school has a sports team so that pupils’ who excel at sports can continue to practice and refine their sporting talents. But what for those who are talented at writing?

Brilliant Publications has developed Able Writers in Your School – a resource that will enable pupils who excel at writing to continue to practice and refine their writing talents, past the curriculum’s requirements.

One has to be careful of course, because wolf has been cried so many times. The TV age, digital games, mobile phones, apps… each has been blamed for a change in the way children see the world, and a decline in their imaginative powers.

The counterbalance to this decline is of course the creative arts, wherein children become involved in, and witness a professional performance right in front of them. It is the prime way in which the spirit of imagination can be rekindled.

Which is also where crying wolf comes in, for Aesop’s tale—which was created 2500 years ago—is as vibrant and stimulating for children now, as it was then.

And that is why our team of three professional actors visit schools across the country and over the course of a day work with individual classes. The children assist with the creative preparation for a show which grows from Aesop’s tales, creating elements of the set, writing their own short stories, etc.

Once the team has spent approximately half an hour with each class, all classes come together to experience Aesop’s Fab Fables. Performed by the actors, this is a 45 minute show suitable for both KS1 and KS2 children based on three of the classic stories.

The approach works as a great introduction to live theatre as it breaks down the barriers between performers and audience, stimulates creativity, and rewards the pupils who will see the fruits of their labour employed in the show.

Aesop’s Fab Fables is available for in-school performances throughout the summer term of 2018.

To find out more, simply e-mail Helen in our office, helen@fred-theatre.co.uk, or call us on 01789 777612. We’ll collect a few details from you and respond with potential dates and a quote.

I look forward to hearing from you, and I welcome any feedback you may have on this production or any of the work we do here at Fred Theatre.

Mr Steven George stepped off the train in France and met a friend he had not seen in years. Beside his friend was a little girl. ‘Steven!’ shouted the friend. ‘How delightful to see you! Did you know that I’m married? This is my daughter.’ ‘Hello,’ said Steven to the little girl, ‘What is your name?’ ‘Same as my mother’s,’ replied the little girl. ‘So you must be Catherine,’ said Steven. How did he know?

Activities range from quick warm-ups, brainteasers and maths focussed activities to entertaining, open-ended exercises for pupils to complete independently. With over 100 activities, Brilliant Activities for Stretching Gifted and Talented Children will be able to keep stretching your pupils for many years to come.

Children are typically very good at acting, not least because it is pivotal to make-believe play. Thus, combining drama with other subject areas, such as literacy, naturally leads to improved engagement and subsequent attainment.

The 70 plus ready-to-use activities in the resource offer a new approach to teaching literacy and cover each of the rules that children are expected to know and use in the Year 6 SATs.

Through acting out parts of speech, letter strings, and punctuation children will internalise the language and absorb ideas, skills and understanding. They will be able to draw on this knowledge when they are being tested, but, more importantly, use it in their own writing.

What’s more, the combination of visual, aural, and kinaesthetic approaches means that the activities suit all types of learner and can be used with both large and small groups of mixed ages and abilities.

In addition to literacy understanding, pupils will also develop skills in problem solving, teamwork, and social confidence.

If you are not already using a Play Therapist on a register accredited by the Professional Standards Authority you could use our placement service for 100 hours to find out how well play therapy will work in your school.

Play therapy not only helps pupils with emotional, behaviour and mental health issues, it reduces stress on teaching staff caused by disruptive or ‘difficult’ pupils. It also improves their learning capabilities: better listening, better concentration, etc.

About 1700 primary schools are already using Play Therapy UK therapists to support pupils with emotional, behaviour and mental health issues. Between 75% and 84% show a positive change.

Is there a snag? It’s not money – all you need to do is provide a suitably equipped room, usually costing about £200. The only other problem is availability. We have about 300 trainees from 13 training centres in all parts of the UK this year. So it depends upon one being available in your area. But it’s worth applying – you’ve nothing to lose.

As an alternative, a good investment would be to fund a member of your staff to train as a Registered Certified Practitioner in Therapeutic Play Skills. You’ll recover the cost very quickly.

Yes you can! – with support from our Primary Progress toolkit. Our system is flexible enough to allow schools to create their own assessment policy, and for Multi Academy Trust leaderships to compare their schools’ progress and attainment.

Schools can:

pick their own subjects and curriculum statements/objectives (we can import these or provide a default set to edit).

agree their own grades, which define pupils’ steps to mastering the curriculum.

use a quick & easy way for teachers to record their assessments

set Age Related Expectations for years/classes and individual pupil Targets, for each term/year (the toolkit has a simple way to set these).

analyse progress and attainment to see which pupils are making expected progress and which need support to get them on track

a dashboard giving access to all the individual school toolkits, together with overview reports which summarise results at MAT level and compare schools’ performance.

The annual subscription costs just £750 per school, including setup and induction training. There is a 5% loyalty discount (max. 20%) and discounts for small schools (<100 on roll). MAT subscriptions are individually negotiated.

So, if you aren’t 100% satisfied with your current assessment tracking system, or if you have set up a system in Excel and are finding it time-consuming to maintain, why not check out our Online Primary Progress toolkit at primaryprogresstoolkit.info

If you need more information, or would like to discuss your specific needs, please email me at statsed@gmail.com. Roger Watson

We can give you free access to a demo site, where you can try out the toolkit for yourself.

Recently it seems that too many disagreements turn into aggressive clashes rather than constructive debates. Which poses the question, ‘Have we forgotten how to debate?’

Disagree – contrary to what some people say, we haven’t forgotten how to debate

It could be argued that a high proportion of the population can’t have forgotten how to debate if they were never taught how to debate in the first place, by their own families or when they were at school.

Fortunately, the topic of debating is now woven into the curriculum, but I do wonder whether this is enough to ensure the next generation is safe from having these unpleasant and discomforting aggressive clashes with their friends, family, neighbours and strangers.

Whilst we can’t single-handedly change the curriculum to include a Debating Programmes of Study, we have produced a resource, entitled Teaching Values through PSHE and Citizenship, containing a wealth of activities and worksheets for discussions and debates.

Section One focuses on what attitudes and values the children believe should determine behaviour towards others, on the qualities they admire in other people, on what they consider to be good manners and on what they consider when making decisions.

Section Two focuses on the rules that govern peopleʼs lives and the responsibilities they have as family members, as neighbours, at school and as citizens. It includes activities that encourage children to discuss what sort of country they want to live in.

Section Three looks at human rights, exploring issues of stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination, sexism and racism. There are also activities on respecting other peopleʼs religions and cultures and on global concerns.

Visit our website for more information or to order this resource for £19.99 as a printed book, £13.99 as an e-book, or both for a discounted price of £24.19.

‘I WAS HUNGRY AND YOU FED ME, THIRSTY AND YOU GAVE ME A DRINK; I WAS A STRANGER AND YOU RECEIVED ME INTO YOUR HOMES.’ (MATTHEW 25:35)

Children are typically able to show understanding and compassion towards children with physical disabilities, yet this same understanding and compassion cannot always be seen towards children with an ‘invisible disability’, such as poor mental health.

Which is what makes it so important to not only make children aware of poor mental health, but to also make children aware of how poor mental health can affect a child’s behaviour – so they can know to show understanding and compassion towards them.

This particular assembly story is entitled Scott’s story: tackling child mental health, and shows the struggles and behaviours of a young boy who is dealing with poor mental health.

Alongside the assembly story we have also provided some teacher notes which include links to PSMC and propose a range of questions that you can ask your pupils to get them involved. There is also a short explanation as to what the Christian view is on the topic, as well as a link to a passage from the bible (Matthew 25:35) and a prayer that you can incorporate into the assembly, if you choose.

There should be some items in a budget that are provisional – money that will only be spent if there is evidence that it will be very worthwhile. One of the most important should be to prove the effectiveness of play therapy, if you are not already using it.

Play therapy not only helps pupils with emotional, behaviour and mental health issues, it reduces stress on teaching staff caused by disruptive or ‘difficult’ pupils. It also improves their learning capabilities: better listening, better concentration, etc.

Our trainee placement scheme could help with your budget because your school can have up to 100 hours of therapy for your pupils at virtually no cost. This will show you how well the Integrative Holistic model works in your school.

About 1700 primary schools are already using Play Therapy UK therapists to support pupils with emotional, behaviour and mental health issues. Between 75% and 84% show a positive change.

Is there a snag? Of course, there always is. We have about 300 trainees from 13 training centres in all parts of the UK this year. So it depends upon one being available in your area. But it’s worth applying.

If you have any budget left over this year for training, a good investment would be to fund a member of your staff to train as a Registered Certified Practitioner in Therapeutic Play Skills. You’ll recover the cost very quickly.

We all know that inactivity is a major issue amongst our young people – a report issued recently showed that in the worse parts of the country 44% of 11-year olds were overweight or obese, this reduced to 25% in the slimmest borough, but still these figures are alarming.

Active 30 – how will it benefit my school?

A primary school child sits for an average of 4 to 5 hours per day – this can be detrimental to their health. Activity not only makes them fitter and healthier, but it can considerably boost cognitive learning and academic performance too. Small bursts of regular activity throughout the day will contribute to:

Higher grades

Improved behaviour

More focus

Happier and healthier children

As you’ll be aware, Primary Schools are being asked to ensure that every child gets a minimum of 30 minutes of structured activity every day as part of Active 30 – but where does a busy school even begin!

Download your FREE Active School Review Tool…

This fantastic new tool can be used to review, assess and implement a successful active schools programme, or add to your existing programme:

Activity Planner: illustrates how active each year group is throughout your school day and highlights the areas of the curriculum that are currently sedentary and have potential to be more active

Activity Review: asks you to rate your school using a RAG traffic light system to assess what is currently happening around activity

Action Plan: requires you to think about what you want to implement and how you can prepare for this.

Get your free copy TODAY!

Simply reply to this email with your school name, and we will send you a free copy of the Active School Review Tool.

Find out more…

If you’d like to find out more about how imoves can help your school become more active by upskilling your teachers, then get in touch:

Play therapy not only helps pupils with emotional, behaviour and mental health issues, it reduces stress on teaching staff caused by disruptive or ‘difficult’ pupils.

Our trainee placement scheme could help with your budget because your school can have up to 100 hours of therapy for your pupils at virtually no cost.

About 1700 primary schools are already using Play Therapy UK therapists to support pupils with emotional, behaviour and mental health issues. Between 75% and 84% show a positive change.

Is there a snag? Of course, there always is. We have about 300 trainees from 13 training centres in all parts of the UK this year. So it depends upon one being available in your area. But it’s worth applying.

If you have any budget left over this year for training, a good investment would be to fund a member of your staff to train as a Registered Certified Practitioner in Therapeutic Play Skills. You’ll recover the cost very quickly.

Being able to analyse pupils’ progress during the year is an important requirement: can you do this satisfactorily in your current tracker?

Our Primary Progress toolkit now provides three main ways of doing this:

– the new whole school Overview Report will calculate progress between two assessment dates, which you can set, using a scoring system where progress between two steps in your grade system equals one point. You can also set what you consider to be high, medium or low progress, which you can change during the year, using two drop-down selectors,

– you can also set termly Age Related Expectations for each year or class and the ARE report will show you how the year/class as a whole is progressing towards those expectations. This also appears in the whole school Overview Report,

– finally, you can set individual pupil targets,because for some the class/year Age Related Expectations will be inappropriate. From these the toolkit will calculate overall year/class targets which appear in the Subject Attainment report, so that you can see how each year/class is moving towards these targets. The individual targets are also displayed when you look at individual attainment, so again you can see how individual pupils are progressing towards their targets.

Together, these facilities provide a pretty comprehensive and powerful way of tracking in year progress.

So, if you aren´t 100% satisfied with the way your current assessment system tracks progress, or if you have set up a system in Excel and are finding it time-consuming to maintain, why not check out our Online Primary Progress toolkit at https://www.primaryprogresstoolkit.info/analysing-results

If you need more information, or would like to discuss your specific needs, please email me at statsed@gmail.com.

We can give you free access to a demo site, where you can try out the toolkit for yourself or we can set you up with a month’s free trial, using your own data, assessment grades etc.

“This is about helping children navigate this world, they have got all sorts of rights that we have signed up to in the physical world. It is now time to sign up to those in the digital world,” Anne Longfield. Children’s Commissioner for England

It can be an extremely difficult task for schools to find PSHE projects and activities that are exciting, engaging and memorable, however that is exactly what is needed to create a lasting impact on their relationships, experiences and choices.

According to OFSTED “In 80% of primary and secondary schools, outside speakers made a valuable contribution by bringing a wide range of expertise and life experiences to the PSHE education programme.”

Tip of the Iceberg theatre company have been designing and delivering PSHE performances and workshops for the last 15 years and are completely funded by educational establishments. It’s taken over 6 years of research and development across the country with over 200,000 pupils to create “Beyond the Surface”. A series of shows based on a “fly on the wall” TV documentary format that is familiar to pupils and gives them a springboard to explore how the media, internet and real life all intertwine. The follow up workshops allow students to relate themselves to the issues and are involving, inspiring and informing. All their projects focus on empowering young people and improving mental health and well-being.

This summer term, Tip of the Iceberg Theatre Company are touring two projects, “Bullied Britain” and “Connected Britain”. There is a range of options from 1 performance for up to 120 pupils (years 5 and 6) to full day packages including a range of shows and workshops for years 1 to 6. The projects can be purely PSHE focused or can also include drama sessions and presentations by pupils at the end of the day.

Every school and their students are different which is why they offer bespoke packages to create the highest impact and ensure all needs are met. To read a little more about the projects take a look on the website:

Tip of the Iceberg are passionate about improving the lives of young people and supporting education across the country:

“Just wanted to say the delivery from Tip of the Iceberg yesterday was fantastic. The workshops and the performances really helped consolidate many of the messages we try to give our students and the delivery was passionate and pertinent. I know the young people will have taken a great deal from it.. and the acting team were great to work with.

Thanks so much for being so accommodating- a delight to work with and I will be recommending you to my PSHE colleagues” C Naylor. Brighouse School Yorkshire

“I meant to email to say how much everyone enjoyed the show and to say how great your team were. Everyone loved it so much that we want to book again for next year.” Mary Scott. Parkfield School, Taunton

Prices start from £575 + VAT for a half day and £775 + VAT for a full day.

Contact us for full information on delivery, prices, and availability.

Get your FREE COPY of BON APPÉTIT !

Since children are typically very vocal about what they like and dislike (especially when it comes to food), Bon appétit! has proved to be very effective at teaching children French language.

The book reinforces language for likes and dislikes (j’aime, j’adore, j’aime bien, j’aime beaucoup, je n’aime pas, je déteste) by asking six French children from different regions what food they like and dislike.

To download your FREE COPY of BON APPÉTIT !, simply fill out the form at this link.

Bon appétit ! is from a series of 18 graded French information books written to encourage children to become independent readers. To order any one of these books for just £3.75 (+p&p), simply click on the individual links below.

As a special school trial offer there is a 10% discount on the Swift Digital.

If you would like us to have a look at your school hall or offer free advice regarding simple equipment to help ensure the school is complying with the Equalities Act for visitors who are hard of hearing, we will be pleased to help.

Aesop’s Fab Fables is a great introduction to the joy of live theatre, the wonderful world of Aesop, and an interactive experience designed to stimulate creativity.

Fred Theatre has built an excellent reputation with its tours for high schools based on GCSE texts. Now we’re using our expertise to offer this new production to younger audiences.

Here’s what happens…

Our team of three professional actors will travel to your school. Over the course of a day they will work with individual classes, the pupils assisting with creative preparation for the show. This might include creating elements of the set, or writing their own short stories. Once the team has spent approximately half an hour with each class, all classes come together to experience Aesop’s Fab Fables. Performed by the actors, this is a young person-friendly 45 minute show based on three of the classic stories.

We feel this approach works as a great introduction to live theatre as it breaks down the barriers between performers and audience, stimulates creativity, and rewards the pupils who will see the fruits of their labour employed in the show.

Aesop’s Fab Fables is available for in-school performances throughout the summer term of 2018.

To find out more, simply e-mail Helen in our office, helen@fred-theatre.co.uk, or call us on 01789 777612. We’ll collect a few details from you and respond with potential dates and a quote.

I look forward to hearing from you, and I welcome any feedback you may have on this production or any of the work we do here at Fred Theatre.

Neuroscience and psychology help us understand more about development of early school skills and how children learn.

Experienced teachers are well-versed in effective teaching and learning methods but new ideas about how the brain works are emerging and alternative teaching ideas are being discovered through scientific enquiry.

The Wellcome Trust are funding the Science of Learning Zone, a website for education providers to connect with education researchers, neuroscientists and psychologists. The aim is to bridge the gap between research and practice in education.

On Monday 5th February we are starting the Early Development fortnight, which we think will be of particular interest to primary school staff.

What? Website which brings together researchers and teachers to discuss Early DevelopmentWhy? Find out why some techniques are more effective and what evidence there is to back them up.When? 5th – 18th Feb (Early Development topic). Accessible at any time, different topics follow until 1st July 2018.Where? Online. Visit learning.imascientist.org.uk/welcome-learning-zoneWho for? Teachers & other education professionals

Teachers and educationalists can read what other teachers are asking, join in with conversations and ask their own questions about the evidence that underpins learning in the classroom.

Quite clearly, it might be that your school doesn’t require a new IP CCTV system, or a CCTV system, full stop. Which is why we’ve compiled a list of questions for you to ask and answer before your school invests.

1) Is your current CCTV system fit for purpose? (if applicable)2) Does your local authority require you to follow a security protocol in your school?3) Does your school’s area have higher than average crime and violence rates?4) Are there loitering ‘hot spots’ in your school where incidents tend to happen more often?5) What’s the biggest threat in your school? (e.g. violence, vandalism, trespassing, truancy etc)

If after answering these questions you believe your school would benefit from a new IP CCTV system and you would like to discuss this with a member of our team, please do get in touch either by: sending an email to cctv@gaia-tech.com, calling 01248 675 800, or filling in the contact form at this link. Alternatively, you can visit our website for more information.

Don’t forget to ask about our special offer when you get in touch:

What is a managed service?

A managed service is an all-encompassing service by which we take on the responsibility of looking after the IP CCTV system so that you and your colleagues can focus on teaching. It includes, installation, support, maintenance, extended warranties, hot swap, an annual visit to clean the cameras, and so on and so forth. For more information, visit www.gaia-security.co.uk/solutions-as-a-managed-services/

The Government has just published a Green Paper “Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision”. It forms part of the Government’s work to transform mental health support, ending what the Prime Minister has referred to as the “burning injustice” of inequality which those with mental health problems experience. The Paper focuses on earlier intervention and prevention before issues escalate, particularly in and around schools and colleges.

The proposals include covering the costs of a significant training programme and will provide up to £15-20m each year, from 2019 to cover costs until all schools and colleges have had the chance to train a lead, this being the Head Teacher or SENCO. However, the proposal is that any therapy required, which may attract additional funding, is carried out by an NHS service or CAHMS. Play Therapy UK (PTUK) believes that for the majority of the cases (mild/moderate conditions) this would best be carried out by a trained member of school staff.

PTUK knows a great deal about working therapeutically with children in schools We have the largest evidence base (over 44,000 measures) showing how effective play and creative arts are when used therapeutically in primary schools – 78% to 84% children show a positive change.

We propose to respond accordingly to the consultation taking into account your views.

To help schools prepare for the changes implied in the Green Paper we are providing a free of charge advisory service. This will keep you in touch with progress of the legislation and give you practical advice on the steps to take. Just email me if you are interested. jefferyht@majemail.com

While most children learn to read English using a story-based approach, it is uncommon for children learning French at Key Stage 2 to be given the opportunity to learn to read French in the same way. But if you make the stories humorous in either language then the vocabulary and grammar will be easier to remember, your pupils will be more engaged in the learning process, and their confidence will increase as they manage to read a complete story.

Which is why we have produced the Learn French with Luc et Sophie story-based scheme for Key Stage 2.

The storybooks included with the scheme are humorous and based on sibling rivalry with which many children will relate. The stories have also been carefully written to ensure progression of vocabulary and language structures.

Aimed at specialist and non-specialist teachers, the teacher books included with the scheme provide structured but flexible lesson plans based around each story. And that is not all …

… find out what else is included in the packs, as well as seeing sample pages and listening to sample audio files by clicking the links below:

The notion of school improvement has been with us for so long that it can seem unlikely that anyone would ever come up with a new approach that really works.

And yet this has happened, because of late there has been growing evidence to the effect that physical activity improves mental activity. Indeed a study from the University of British Columbia showed that very modest levels of exercise boost activity in the part of the brain involved in verbal memory and learning.

Meanwhile there has also been lots of evidence generated showing that increasing children’s activity throughout the day improves pupil focus, behaviour, wellness, and academic performance, as well as health and fitness.

Thus, when you give children short bursts of mild physical activity within a lesson they return to learning more focused. And indeed this is one of the reasons why the additional 30 minutes of structured activity has now been introduced as a compulsory measure in schools in England.

If that short period is spent on modest levels of physical activity the amount of learning that subsequently takes place increases considerably.

And that is before we even think in terms of encouraging regular activity in children in order to reduce the chances of obesity.

The new government directive requires all primary schools in England to provide 30 minutes of structured physical activity each day to all children in the school in addition to the weekly two hours of PE, and it is to support this practice that the PE and Sport Premium funding has been doubled this year.

To see how this approach can be implemented by making classrooms more active and the benefits it brings your pupils, we’ve now made available online a series of free trials of activity sessions. Each session can be implemented within classroom lessons.

The Government has just published a Green Paper “Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision”. It forms part of the Government’s work to transform mental health support, ending what the Prime Minister has referred to as the “burning injustice” of inequality which those with mental health problems experience. The Paper focuses on earlier intervention and prevention before issues escalate, particularly in and around schools and colleges.

The proposals include covering the costs of a significant training programme and will provide up to £15-20m each year, from 2019 to cover costs until all schools and colleges have had the chance to train a lead.

To help you prepare for an application for this funding we are providing a free of charge advisory service. This will keep you in touch with progress of the Green Paper and give you practical advice on the steps to take. Just email me if you are interested. jefferyht@majemail.com

PTUK knows a great deal about working therapeutically with children. It has the largest evidence base (over 44,000 measures) showing how effective play and creative arts are when used therapeutically in primary schools – 78% to 84% children show a positive change.